Guest post: Don’t ignore the cronyism
Originally a comment by Bruce Gorton on Vacations for all.
The thing I think a lot of people miss, is if you look at Project 2025, the whole plan is for a crony government.
Sure we can argue about the social justice aspect of all of this, but we aren’t arguing between a merit based system and a DEI one.
We’re talking about Donald “Put his idiot son-in-law in charge of handling a pandemic” Trump here. Donald “Wants a drunken misogynist to run the military” Trump. Donald “Putting an antivax brain worm infested roadkill bear eater in change of health” Trump.
The only merit Trump appears to care about is loyalty to Trump.
What Trump is doing is eliminating the checks and balances that could get in the way of him stealing. Sure, it may mean that the best person isn’t getting the job, I honestly don’t know, but it is likely also getting in the way of Trump picking some of the worst.
This is a point I keep returning to. Trump’s appointments, his expressed admiration for other kleptocrats like Viktor Orban, his determination to capture or destroy any institution that might otherwise serve as a counterweight to his ambitions, the way he used his first precidency to funnel money to his private businesses, all goes to show that you can’t be pro meritocracy and pro Trump at the same time.
And, as I have previously pointed out, this is where attempts to portray Trumpism as simply the logical consequence of what ”conservatives” have been up to the whole time fail. Trump is no more a ”conservative” than TRAs are ”liberals”. The betrayal of the idea of ”meritocracy” in favor of a system that rewards personal loyalty to the leader over accomplishment is probably more offensive to traditional conservatives than to leftists who think there’s no such thing as ”meritocracy” anyway, only unearned privilege perpetuating itself from one generation to the next.
There’s a big difference between Trump Version 1 and Trump Version 2.
First time round, no-one expected him to win. He had no plan, he was out of his depth, he didn’t know what to do. He had no team around him (beyond a handful of loyalists). Most Republicans were suspicious of him. The media and national mood were against him. And the entire government machine just stonewalled most of what he attempted to do.
This time round a lot of sensible, capable people have formed a team around him, and have thought through their plans. While Trump himself is still an incompetent buffoon (and while he may reject sensible advice and may end up falling out with that team), there are some good EOs coming out. And, this time round, the zeitgeist on many issues has changed and the winds are now in his favour.
One example of that “capable team” is the superb and spot-on EO rejecting gender ideology written by May Mailman. The anti-DEI EOs also seem to have capable people behind them. And yes, it is a return to merit-based policies instead of identity-based policies. Killing woke DEI and returning to MLK-style judgement-on-merit really is good and necessary.
I expect there will many bad things about the Trump presidency, but it looks as though there could also be a lot of good things. Sorry** if that assessment is too centrist for some folks here.
**No, actually, I’m not.
Or there will be one good thing about the current administration and a shitload of bad things. Watch him telling Hannity how trivial the crimes of the Capitol mob were, watch him say they were there to “protest the vote.” Watch the guy who brazenly defends an attempted coup that would have installed him in office as a dictator.
Sensible, capable people like Pete Hesgeth? Or RFK Jr? Or Dr. Oz? Or Scott Bessent? Or Pam Bondi? Or Kash Patel? Or Tulsi Gabbard?
Sensible and capable, all, I’m sure.
There’s a big difference between Trump Version 1 and Trump Version 2.
Version 2 is WORSE. He can’t run again so he doesn’t have that constraint. He feels free to do any criminal evil vindictive thing he wants. Decent conservatives won’t go near him.
The gender executive order isn’t “one example” of how awesome he’ll be, it’s the ONLY example of a benefit from his dangerous return to power.
Trump himself is still an incompetent buffoon, yes, but he’s also an angry stupid obstinate entitled sadistic shit. He’s a bad bad man, as he makes obvious every time he opens his mouth and lets words fall out. No it does not look as if there could also be a lot of good things, and it’s not remotely “centrist” to pretend Trump is a normal or decent human being.
Sensible, capable people like Tom Homan and Stephen Miller.
Trump hits NIH with ‘devastating’ freezes on meetings, travel, communications, and hiring
Much more at the link. What “sensible, capable” person came up with that idea?
Jeezus.
One thing about merit-based hiring (I am a big believer in merit-based hiring, but I am not delusional): it depends heavily on having a standard for ‘merit’ in place. Right now the government (the elected portion) does not have that, and can appoint any ridiculous appointment they wish.
For a different example, academics has a defined standard in place. Now, don’t get me wrong. I’m not saying that standard is always right, or that the right person is always hired. Once you meet the standard in terms of education and experience, there is a lot of wiggle room. But at least there is a starting point of minimum qualifications (more stringent in some ways for college than for K-12, since in college, you have to have at least eighteen hours of graduate level classes in the subject you are teaching). If the standard isn’t working, it can be modified, even though the process may be slow.
Trump also believes in merit based hiring – he just has a different definition of merit, and he’s sticking to it like glue. His definition of merit is ‘supports Donald Trump. Agrees with whatever Donald Trump says. Will admire, possibly even adore, Donald Trump (though I suspect some of them don’t, but are letting on that they do).
That isn’t merit. As for what really constitutes merit in government, we need to reach agreement on what that means before we can establish a standard. The most recent election shows in sharp colors just how unlikely that is.
Yes Coel and Trans women are Women, you can tell because all women are six feet tall with five o’clock shadow. You are the single most dishonest human being I’ve encountered and in my daily life since I cut ties with an idiot who pretending that you can’t tell sex based on pelvis shape four years ago.
Lie to our faces some more please or if that’s insufficient continue to lie to yourself.
@Blood Knight in Sour Armor:
Give me one example of me posting something dishonest.
(You do know what the concept of “dishonesty” entails, right? You do know that it does not mean “has opinion different from mine”, right?)